


Tiger

by meyari



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Accidental Voyeurism, Alternate Universe, Anger, F/M, Jealousy, M/M, Seduction, Semi-Public Sex, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-02
Updated: 2014-07-02
Packaged: 2018-02-07 05:22:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1886628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meyari/pseuds/meyari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Jason Todd had been taken in by Selina Kyle rather than Bruce Wayne?</p>
<p>In another universe that's exactly what happened. Jason becomes Tiger, cat burglar and beloved son of Selina. It changes everything, especially for Tim Drake, adopted son of Bruce Wayne.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tiger

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally begun as a comment fic on LJ:  DC, Jason Todd, Selina Kyle, What if Jason had been taken in by Selina instead of Bruce. by catyuy. I liked it so I expanded it quite a bit. It's told comment fic style, with bits of story prompted by various people over time.
> 
> I never did finish it, sadly. My DCU muses died with the new 52 and somehow the files got lost for quite a while. Having just rediscovered them on a backup I decided to put the up here at last. Hope you all enjoy!

"Hey Tiger."

The lazy drawl predictably made Jason want to snarl. Using his code name in the middle of a huge party was a risk that Selina really shouldn't take but it was one of the back rooms and they were alone so Selina probably decided that she didn't need to worry about it. Easy for her to do since it wasn't her ass on the line if someone overhead and understood that it wasn't just teasing. Instead of snapping at her, he turned and then raised an eyebrow at Selina. Jewels dripped from her neck, wrists, ears and fingers, all on top of a slinky black dress that left practically nothing to the imagination.

"Started the night with a much simpler set, didn't you?" Jason asked, his lips twitching with amusement.

"Maybe," Selina said. She grinned openly and jerked her chin at his rumpled suit, undone bow tie and the missing cummerbund. "Have fun?"

"Maybe a little," Jason replied with a matching grin and drawl. "Bruce's new kid is… interesting. Intense. Hasn't been as much fun since Dickie-bird left, not that Dick played like this kid did. He looks promising though."

Selina smirked. Her instructions for their evening had been pretty simple. While she got the loot from the vault, Jason was to learn as much as he could about Timothy Drake, the newest Robin to prowl at Batman's side. That Jason had taken that as an opportunity to seduce the younger boy was no surprise. The kid might be a little young but he was seriously good looking, in a nerdy sort of way. The surprise for Jason had been that Drake had seemed entirely willing to be seduced. Heck, he'd acted like he was perfectly happy to go as far as Jason wanted, perhaps much further than that. It was a nice switch from his frequent battles with Dick as Robin or lately as Nightwing.

"You'll have to tell me all about it later," Selina said as she efficiently stripped off the jewels and tucked them away into her purse. "Straighten up. I think it's time we leave. Bruce was looking rather suspicious when I last spotted him. I think he realizes what we were up to."

"Maybe. Could also be the hickie I left on little Timmy's neck," Jason said, grinning at her delighted laugh as he straightened up his tux. "Doubt he approves of things like that, specially with his shiny new boy."

Selina smirked and ran a finger down her neck in just the right way to make Jason squirm a little at the reluctant arousal. "You'd be surprised the things that Bruce approves of, sometimes."

"We are so not going there," Jason said and offered his elbow to her. "Come on. Let's get out before someone gets wise."

"You're such a wonderful son," Selina said as she took his offered elbow. "I'm glad I found you stealing the Batmobile's tires and brought you home with me."

The nose wrinkle and grin made it much more of a compliment than the line normally would have been. Most of the time when she said things like that it was for an audience, not for Jason. Her adoption of a street kid had been huge news and frankly still was, so it wasn't like people didn't know where he'd come from. He kind of liked the hint of danger it gave him to the rich marks they associated with, though he'd lost all his street cred as Jason Todd. It didn't bother him too much because Tiger was very well respected on the streets.

Still, he snorted as they headed back out into the party. A quick escape from the party and they'd have pulled yet another heist off under Bruce's nose. Sometimes he wondered what his life would have been like if Selina hadn't found him and adopted him but not very often. For all his frequent battles with Dick, Bruce and possibly now Tim, life as Selina Kyle's son and Catwoman's sidekick was pretty good.

+++++

"What happened?"

Bruce's voice was too sharp for vapid Brucie but not quite as dark as Batman's so Tim stayed in character and just smiled and shrugged at him. He could see Jason and Selina leaving the party, Selina leaning on Jason's arm while smiling at him with such pride that it made Tim's heart hurt. No one ever looked at him that way, though he was fairly certain that Bruce was starting to feel that sort of pride in him. His parents certainly never had though they never gave him enough notice to be able to feel anything other than vague approval of his intellect.

"Tim?" This time Bruce put his hand on Tim's shoulder to guide him out of the room and onto a balcony. "What happened?"

"He's… intense," Tim sighed. Bruce's thumb was resting right on top of the hickie that Jason had given him, telling Tim that Bruce had to know. "I wasn't expecting that. I'm fine, just…"

Bruce's answering sigh and wry nod made Tim smile for a second. Apparently, Jason copied his intensity from his adopted mother, Selina Kyle. They looked at the party for a long while, the silence between them oddly comfortable. Tim had never met anyone else who was as comfortable with long silences as Bruce. It was as though Bruce understood the value of silence and felt no need to fill it with aimless conversation. Of course, Tim had figured out as a very small child that silence led to people saying and doing things that they otherwise wouldn't, like giving him toys and cookies and all sorts of comforting gestures, not that it had ever worked on his mother.

"He didn't hurt you?" Bruce eventually asked. "Jason can be rather forceful."

"No," Tim protested as his cheeks flamed. "No. It wasn't… I…"

He sighed; unsure how he could explain the crush he'd had on Tiger. Certainly, Tim had always been fascinated by Dick, by Robin, had always wanted to be Robin, but Tiger had been equally fascinating. Tim thought that he'd secretly taken twice as many pictures of Tiger as he had of Batman and Robin. It had taken a particularly progressive sex Ed teacher discussing fetish and kink for him to realize that his fascination with Tiger's suit and his moves might verge into fetish territory. Just thinking of the way that his dark stripped suit clung to his body as he moved made Tim's cock twitch, despite what he and Jason had done earlier. Batman and Robin had never done that for him.

Bruce's raised eyebrow and smirk were firmly into Brucie territory, which was probably good given that a couple of other people were headed for the balcony. Tim's blushed harder and rubbed his neck as he tried to form words that wouldn't sound appallingly adolescent.

"You _like_ him," Bruce murmured.

"Um, yes sir," Tim answered. His ears felt hot, damn it.

"You do understand the importance of condoms and the like, don't you?" Bruce murmured just quietly enough that the other couple wouldn't hear what he said.

Tim glared at him, nodding shortly. "Of course. I'm not an idiot. I wouldn't do anything like that without appropriate protection."

Bruce laughed his Brucie laugh but the look in his eyes was pure Batman approval, the sort that Tim was starting to crave like a drug. He wrapped an arm around Tim's shoulders and pulled him back into the party. They were just passing the buffet table when Bruce leaned over and murmured into his ear.

"Be careful of the claws," Bruce said too quietly for anyone but Tim to hear. "They're really very sharp."

Tim squeaked and the blush that had been fading abruptly returned. Bruce laughed again and left Tim by the buffet table and it's finger foods. Rather than follow him, Tim gathered up an adequate supply of tiny sandwiches so that he could fill his stomach. Maybe sometime he would ask how many of Bruce's scars came from Selina Kyle's alter ego but he rather doubted that he would. Some things he just didn't want to know.

The thought of Tiger, Jason, inflicting similar scars on Tim shouldn't be as hot as it was. Tim sighed. That suit truly was a fetish for him and unfortunately Tim was fairly certain that Jason would figure out how he affected Tim very, very quickly.

"At least it should be fun," Tim murmured before eating the last of his little sandwiches. "I wonder if we'll go out later. I wonder if he'll be out later…"

He could only hope.

+++++

"You are going to break that up, aren't you?" Dick murmured into his comm, knowing that Bruce would hear it.

"No," Bruce replied in his best Batman growl. "Leave it, Nightwing."

"He'll rip Robin to shreds," Dick protested as the fight below him escalated.

Bruce's snort was far too amused for Dick's comfort. Despite the intensive training that Tim had gone through he really wasn't a match for Tiger. Selina had taken a half-feral street child and given him the means to become lethal and none of the moral constraints that should go with that. Every single one of his battles with Tiger, Jason, had been vicious, whether they'd been in costume or not. Alfred had patched more wounds on Dick's body after fights with Tiger than with anyone else.

Below him, Tim very nearly managed to maneuver the much larger Jason into a position where he could knock the older boy out. Jason grinned and leaped over Tim's head, landing on all fours like the cat he pretended to be. Tim whirled, already at the ready, but it was too late. Before he could turn all the way around Jason charged him and slammed Tim up against the alley wall. Dick could hear Tim's pained gasp at the impact from several stories up.

"B," Dick said warningly.

"No."

Dick cursed under his breath while reaching for his zip line but the gesture died half completed as a completely different sound echoed up to Dick's perch. Tim moaned, trembling in Jason's arms as if he was perfectly happy to be exactly where he was. Jason's earthy chuckle carried up to Dick's ears as clearly as Tim little needy whimpers. Instead of swinging down or leaving, either of which would be much more appropriate than staying where he was and watching, Dick thumbed his radio over to Tim's channel so he could hear what was being said between Robin and Tiger.

"Like that, don't you?" Tiger growled into Tim's ear. "Been waiting for a chance to tangle with me."

"L-let me go," Tim panted, squirming against Tiger's larger form.

Tiger laughed and rubbed against Tim as he first pinned both of Tim's hands over his head and then slid the other hand down between Tim's legs. As he did it, he made a sound that was incredible close to a purr. Tim, on the other hand, gasped and bucked. Up on his perch, Dick finally figured out why Bruce had refused to intervene between Tim and Jason. This was another version of Bruce's weird relationship with Selina, played out with younger heroes this time around.

"Yeah, that's what you like," Jason murmured huskily into Tim's ear. "Careful, don't want me to tear that suit right off of you."

"Oh God," Tim whimpered as if that was exactly what he wanted to have happen. Dick was a little surprised to find himself blushing at the excitement in Tim's voice.

"You little perv," Jason laughed. "Shoulda known you'd like this after the last time."

His hand curled around Tim's crotch in exactly the right way to make his suit's claws dig into Tim's groin right where the cup wouldn't cover him. Dick winced and thought about intervening again but Tim moaned so loudly that Dick was frozen in place again. 'A pain kink and a suit fetish,' Dick thought while absently adjusting his cup so that his cock didn't hurt so much.

"Tiger…" Tim moaned.

"More, Baby Bird?" Jason asked as if he was really asking instead of already pulling Tim's tights down and shoving his underwear out of the way. "You really are a perv."

"Yes," Tim agreed, apparently replying to the words as much as agreeing to Jason's hand curling around his cock. "Oh God yes!"

"Could eat you up, Baby Bird," Jason murmured in his Tiger rumble. "Tear you apart and eat you alive."

Dick moved back from his spot, fully intending to go, to leave them to what they were doing but as soon as he stood he could see more clearly. Where before he'd seen hints of Tim's reactions and what Jason was doing, now he could clearly see Jason's hand in it's clawed glove ever so delicately stroking Tim's naked cock. Jason was nuzzling Tim's neck and gently rocking against Tim's ass. A shaft of light from the street reflected off of the dirty bricks illuminated Tim's face; he looked like he was in heaven, like this was the best thing he had ever experienced.

"Tiger, Tiger, oh God, Tiger!" Tim panted, rocking forwards and back faster and faster.

"That's it," Jason groaned into Tim's ear. "Go on. Go on! Do it!"

He bit Tim's shoulder above the collar of his suit and Tim wailed, coming so hard that it looked like his knees buckled out from under him. Jason supported his weight easily, wrapping both arms around Tim so that he couldn't collapse to the ground. Dick realized that he was panting nearly as hard as either Tim or Jason was so he bit his lip and tried to calm down. It was almost impossible to ignore the throbbing of his groin but Dick did his best.

"Nice," Jason purred in Tim's ear, nuzzling him exactly like a cat would.

"Oh God," Tim sighed. "This… shouldn't have…"

Jason chuckled, sounding tired and honestly amused. "You think our 'mentors' don't do the exact same thing on a regular basis?"

Tim's little laugh was just as amused as Jason's for all that it sounded like a mouse sneezing. He rotated in Jason's arms, letting the larger boy hold him close and squeeze his ass with those lethal claws. Dick had to bite his lip again to keep from being overheard.

"I know they do," Tim replied perfectly calmly, "but they're not the ones watching us."

Jason stiffened and then whipped his head around. He instantly spotted Dick up on his perch. His growl echoed through the alley as he stepped away from Tim and then headed at the wall to start climbing. Given that his gloves and boots worked very much like climbing gear and how pissed off Jason was, Dick turned and ran. The last thing he wanted tonight was another all-out battle with Tiger.

"A little help would be nice," Dick snapped to Tim as he ran across the roof and vaulted to the next.

"No," Tim said in a carbon copy of Bruce's tone earlier. "Your problem now."

"Get back here you fucking pervert!" Tiger bellowed behind Dick. "I'll tear your fucking arms off and beat you with them!"

Dick cursed and ran like there was a tiger on his tail because there quite literally was. He was halfway convinced that Selina had to be somewhere else in the city pulling a heist while Jason distracted them, not that it made any difference at the moment. All that really mattered was escaping Jason before he got his hands on Dick. 

One of these days his voyeurism was going to get him killed!

+++++

"Hey Tiger."

Jason froze, his hands clenched on the tire iron. He looked around and then up at the fire escape behind him. Despite his efforts not to look scared he knew that his eyes went wide at the sight of Catwoman casually leaning against the railing while watching him steal the tires from the Batmobile.

"What do you want?" Jason demanded.

Catwoman laughed, low and sultry. There were girls down the street who'd kill to be a fraction that sexy. Her lips curled in a smile that looked honestly amused, though he couldn't tell if it was because of what he was doing or if it was his attitude.

"He's on his way back here," Catwoman said. "If you leave now he won't catch you."

"Why help?" Jason asked as he quickly stripped the last tire off and hefted it along with his tire iron.

"I want to see his face when he comes back and finds the Batmobile this way," Catwoman laughed.

He could see the smile wrinkles around her eyes. They made her seem so much more real, more ordinary, than he would have expected but Jason didn't stick around. If Batman was coming back then Jason was getting the hell out of there. He made it out of the alley and to his buyer without anyone stopping him. Once he had the money in his pocket Jason thought about heading back to the apartment he shared with some other kids but there was nothing there for him. There hadn't been anything like a home for Jason, not since his mom died and his step-dad skipped out on him.

Instead, Jason crept back to the alley where he'd found the Batmobile. It was gone, which surprised him. With the tires gone it should have still been there but it made sense that Batman had more resources than Jason would have suspected. Catwoman was gone too, or at least he thought that she was gone until he was a couple blocks away, heading for his favorite cheap diner.

"Oh no, it wasn't me," Catwoman laughed from a rooftop across the street.

Jason froze and stared up at her. Batman was standing just a hair too close to her, glaring down into her face. She smirked at him, one clawed hand resting on his chest in a gesture that was far more intimate than he would have expected between enemies.

"Then who was it?" Batman growled. He caught Catwoman's wrist, twisting her arm gently to the side as he stepped even closer to her.

"An adorable young man with the bravery to take an opportunity when it was presented to him," Catwoman replied far too confidently. "It was quite amusing. He stole all four of your tires in less than five minutes. You really should have locked those lugnuts, darling."

Jason heard Batman's amused snort entirely too clearly. There was a flicker of movement from Batman's cowl towards him that had Jason scurrying away from the scene. Catwoman's earthy laugh echoed down the street, nipping at Jason's heels until it was cut off by what had to be a kiss. All Jason could think was 'no wonder he never catches her' before he was far enough away to turn and stare back towards their now-hidden rooftop. It was kind of embarrassing to find that there were things that could throw him off of his game after the life he'd led.

Rather than dwell on Batman, Catwoman or anything else, Jason went and got himself something to eat. The greasy burger and fries filled his belly. Because he'd gotten a really good price for the tires, Jason sprang for a chocolate milkshake too. He spent as long as possible on that, wandering the streets rather than going home. By the time he made it back to the crappy apartment that he shared with too many other street kids it was nearly 2:00 am.

There was a big black car sitting in front of the building with a beautiful black-haired woman sitting on the hood.

"Hey Tiger."

"No way," Jason breathed.

She grinned at him, the exact same grin that she'd used when she said she wanted to see Batman's expression at his jacked Batmobile. He cocked his head at her as he tried to figure out how the hell she'd found his crash pad, why the hell she'd even bother. Rather than explain, she gestured for him to come a little closer. Jason was acutely aware that every single window in the area had to have people watching them. Hopefully everyone would assume that it was a job and not her offering to buy his presence in her bed. He could do without that sort of crap.

"What?" Jason asked after he'd stepped closer though not so close that she could touch him.

"I have an offer for you," she said. "It guarantees you food, safety, education and freedom from the people assuming right now that you're a whore."

"Okay." Jason drawled the word so long that it turned into a doubtful question. "And what's in it for you?"

She laughed that glorious, earthy, incredible laugh, leaning forward to meet his eyes with mischief dancing in her eyes. Jason shivered and fought the urge to bolt. He shouldn't want to step closer like this, not when he had no idea who she was or what she wanted.

"I'll adopt you," she said. "You'll be my son, Jason. I like you. You've got spirit, fire. I think you could be truly great and I know you're wasted here. And yes, that's all about you but what I get is really quite simple. I get to watch _his_ face when you're with me and I get to watch you become something incredible. I do what I do because I enjoy it. I don't need to, you know. When I'm not out… prowling… I get bored. I think you understand that, don't you?"

Jason's mouth worked for a moment as he tried to find some sort of answer to her. It was completely insane and the sort of stupidity that only really rich people did. He snapped his mouth shut as that thought flitted through his head and he cataloged her clothes, shoes, bag, car and the jewelry adorning her ears and fingers. The total cash value of what she so casually displayed had him nodding agreement. From the amusement in her eyes she knew that he was doing it to milk her dry and she didn't give a damn.

"Sure, why not?" Jason said as he stuck a hand out to her. "That all you want, whatever your name is?"

She shook his hand and laughed. "No, I figure that you'll need a new suit or two to keep up with me. Selina Kyle can't have her darling adopted son dressed in ripped jeans and grubby T-shirts. We'll dress you up and maybe even get you some claws."

She waited to say the last bit until Jason had climbed into the passenger side of her very expensive car. Jason's head whipped and he stared at her with his jaw dropped open of its own accord. Selina laughed and ruffled his hair entirely too fondly as they pulled away from the curb and left his old life behind, along with his meager belongings, not that he really gave a shit about that.

"Are you nuts?" Jason squawked at her.

"Well, Batman has his Robin," Selina said with that wicked grin. "Why shouldn't Catwoman have her Tiger? I meant it when I said that I see something in you. I think you'll make a terrific Tiger."

"Oh fuck, what have I gotten myself into?" Jason groaned. 

Selina laughed. This time Jason laughed with her. No matter what happened now, Jason thought that he probably wouldn't be bored, even if he wasn't sure he'd be any safer than he had been.

+++++

Tim could tell from the way Dick's bike's engine faltered and hesitated as he pulled to a stop that Jason had done a number on Dick's arms. He obviously couldn't work the brakes and throttle properly. The way Dick had to struggle to get the kickstand in place and the exhausted panting that followed it gave him a very good idea of just how vicious the battle must have been once Jason caught up to Dick. A wholly inappropriate surge of satisfaction at the thought of Dick wounded and hurting swept through Tim, immediately followed by a too-weak feeling of guilt.

"A little help would be nice," Dick commented from where his bike sat parked.

Rather than immediately responding, Tim saved the file he'd been working on, made sure that Alfred knew that Dick was back and in need of treatment and then slowly spun the chair so that he could look at Dick. He quite literally looked like something the cat drug in.

Cuts and scratches covered Dick's face and arms. There were several deep gouges on his legs that slowly oozed blood. It looked as though Dick's hair had been cut in a couple of places as there were locks over his left eye and right ear that were significantly shorter than the rest. Little cuts that exactly matched Tiger's claws explained how that happened.

"Ow."

Dick's hopeful expression went flat at Tim's monotone comment on his condition. He struggled to stand and barely managed it so Tim came over and helped Dick into the infirmary portion of the Cave. Alfred arrived about that time, tisking at how Dick looked.

"Another battle with Tiger, Master Dick?" Alfred asked in a tone that made it clear that Dick could save his breath and didn't need to reply. "I shall need to break out the sutures. Can you help him disrobe, Master Timothy?"

"Of course, Alfred," Tim said.

Alfred went to the cabinet to get the supplies he'd need. Dick was awkward about stripping but given the nasty bruises on his sides he probably had broken ribs making it hard to breathe. By the time Dick was down to his shorts Alfred was back with the medical supplies. As much as he'd rather leave Alfred and Dick alone, many of the wounds were deep enough that a second pair of hands were welcome, so Tim stayed and assisted until Dick had been stitched up, bandaged and carefully dressed in comfortable pajamas.

"Please assist Master Dick to his room, Master Timothy," Alfred said. The look he leveled at Tim made it perfectly clear that he was aware of Tim's annoyance with Dick and wasn't about to put up with Tim taking it out on his wounded 'brother'.

"If you want me to," Tim said reluctantly enough that Dick threw a pouting, betrayed look at him.

By the time they were in the elevator Dick's pout was almost palpable, like a third presence in the tiny room. Of course, Tim's anger was the silent fourth presence in the elevator so the elevator seemed a good bit more crowded than it actually was. Tim ignored Dick's pout and tried to ignore his own anger as he supported Dick's weight. Getting him down the hall to his room was an exercise in being a living crutch as Dick was stumbling and so exhausted that he could barely stand up.

"I didn't mean to spy on you," Dick complained as Tim helped him into bed. "Seriously, I thought he was going to hurt you. He's always been brutal with me."

"I'm not you," Tim said so flatly that Dick winced. "Obviously."

"He's…" Dick gestured absently, as if he was trying to find some sort of description of Jason that wouldn't infuriate Tim even worse.

"Violent, short-tempered, dangerous, criminal, crude, rude, and the one person that I find most attractive in Gotham," Tim said for Dick.

"Um…"

Dick's cheeks went blazingly red at Tim's recitation. He looked at Tim, winced at the expression on Tim's face and then rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Rather than make it easier on Dick by saying something else, such as the entirely logical statement that Tim knew he shouldn't get involved with Jason or the emotional response that he'd cut Dick to ribbons himself if he ever watched them together again, Tim crossed his arms on his chest and waited for Dick's response.

"I really didn't mean to upset either of you," Dick said in a lost little boy voice.

"You did."

"Yeah, I get that," Dick sighed. "I'm sorry?"

"You sound so certain of that," Tim commented and raised an eyebrow at the way Dick had said it.

"Yeah, really certain of it," Dick said. This time he rubbed both of his hands over his face, wincing at the scratches on his cheek and forehead. "I'm just… Fuck, I'm sorry Tim. Seriously. I didn't intend to stay. I thought I'd have to swing down and help you. I didn't… you were… _he_ was just… never seen him like that before. I've never seen you like that before."

"And you better not see us like that again," Tim said, anger that he'd been spied on while having sex with Jason turning his voice so sharp that it was practically another blade to wield against Dick.

"I won't, I swear!" Dick promised.

He looked rather like he wanted to run away but was afraid that he'd get a knife in the back if he tried. Given how angry Tim was he might. Tim snorted and turned to leave, sidestepping Dick's outreached hand so that he couldn't make Tim stop and accept whatever apology was about to be offered. The expression on Dick's face bordered on stricken when Tim looked back while closing the door.

"That…" 

Tim's throat closed up and his cheeks burned with mortified embarrassment that Dick had watched him. It was in no way private, not when they'd done it in an alleyway, but it felt private. It felt like the most private thing that Tim had ever experienced and he hated that Dick had watched. More importantly than that, he hated that Dick had been turned on by it.

"Don't do that again, Dick," Tim murmured, a clear threat in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Dick whispered. "I won't."

"Good."

Tim shut the door and headed to his bedroom up the hall. As much as he wanted to call Jason and make sure that he was okay, Tim knew that he couldn't. It would be easy enough to find Jason's number but Tim wasn't sure exactly how it would be received. Besides, as angry as he was at the moment, Tim was more likely to rant about Dick and somehow it seemed hypocritical of Tim to be angry. The illogic of his emotions didn't make them any less powerful.

+++++

"I cannot believe that asshole!" Jason snarled as he slammed the door and stomped into the apartment he shared with Selina.

"Hmmm, what happened, Tiger?" Selina asked.

She was perched on the couch, curled up with Bumberwort and Triphammer. Triphammer was trying to capture Bumberwort's tail which meant that any minute the calico kitten was going to get her ass handed to her by the older tom. Selina didn't look as though she minded the inevitable battle about to occur in her lap.

"Goddamn Nightwing spied on Tim and me tonight," Jason complained. "I mean seriously, what the fuck is wrong with that guy? How often do I have to beat his ass up before he gets that he better leave me the fuck alone?"

"He was probably worried about his 'little brother'," Selina said entirely too rationally for Jason's mood. "You know how he gets about family."

"Getting off on watching his supposed little brother having sex in an alley isn't exactly what you're talking about," Jason grumbled.

Bumberwort snarled as Triphammer caught his tail. He smacked the kitten away and then stalked off, tail thrashing. Selina scooped Triphammer up and pet her despite kitten claws and teeth trying to catch her hand. Jason checked the other end of the couch for sleeping cats before thumping down next to Selina. Triphammer immediately pounced on his thigh, trying to battle Jason into submission. As always the little kitten's antics lightened his mood. At least with cats he knew exactly what to expect.

Selina watched him for a long moment, smiling as his scowl transformed into a grin when he managed to catch Triphammer and wrestle her onto her back. His gauntlet protected him against Triphammer's little claws as she tried to eviscerate Jason's hand. When he let Triphammer go she skittered away to groom herself back into something resembling normal. Jason chuckled and let his head drop back onto the cushions of the couch.

"You're sure he was enjoying it?" Selina asked as if there hadn't been a pause in their conversation.

"Quite," Jason grumbled.

"How did your little bird respond to that?" Selina asked.

She raised an eyebrow at Jason who winced. It wasn't a question that he could answer. He'd gone chasing after Dick instead of making sure that Tim was okay. Which, seriously, he should at least have made sure Tim got his clothes back on before taking Dick on. It made sense now that he wasn't pissed off and wanting to rip Dick's nuts off so that he could feed them to him.

"Didn't ask, did you?" Selina laughed.

"Uh, no."

That just made Selina laugh harder as she patted his shoulder and then kissed his cheek. He grumbled at her which she took as seriously as she took any of the cat's grumbles. Once he passed over the night's haul, which was significantly smaller than he'd thought it would be, Jason went and got cleaned up.

Bruises lined his arms from blocking Dick's blows. His ribs were a beautiful rainbow of red, white, blue and black. Going out was going to suck hard for a few days. There were more than a few scrapes and cuts but he knew he was in way better shape than Dick. By the time he'd let Dick escape Jason knew that Dick would have a hard time getting back home. Not so hard that he couldn't make it but hard enough for him to think twice about spying on Jason and Tim again.

Once he was cleaned up, bandaged and dressed in his comfiest sweats, Jason chased Poppy and Pippen out of his bed so that he could collapse for a while. Pippin immediately curled up by his head, purring and grooming Jason's hair by his temple but that was okay. He did that to everyone who would sit still for it.

Jason ignored Pippen and stared at his cell phone.

He already had Tim's number. That'd been an easy steal. The only question was whether or not he'd wake Tim up if he called. After a minute Jason shrugged and punched Tim's number. If he woke Tim up, so be it. Tim probably would have turned his phone off so that it'd go to voice mail if he really wanted to sleep.

Probably the last thing on Tim's mind was sleep.

"What?" Tim snarled before Jason's phone had run even once.

"Okay, nope, not sleeping," Jason drawled. "It was pointed out that I probably shoulda asked if you were okay before I went and beat the fuck outta your brother."

Tim made a little squeaking gasp noise that was probably supposed to be a laugh. "I'm… awake. I'm awake."

"And pissed."

"Ahem. Yes. Quite."

Jason chuckled, pulling Pippin onto his belly so that he'd stop with the grooming. Pippen purred and started kneading his stomach. Given how loud Pippen's purrs were, and they seriously sounded like a jet engine when he got going, Tim probably knew exactly where Jason was.

"Mmm, you give him a piece of your mind?" Jason asked.

"That would be a yes," Tim sighed. "That. He shouldn't have. It was…"

"Private?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow because sex in an alley wasn't exactly the most private thing ever.

"Yes. Well, no. Sort of. I think?" Tim's voice trailed off in such a way that Jason was pretty sure that he was blushing and biting his lip nervously.

The mental image made Jason lick his lips and wish that they weren't on opposite sides of the city. Wayne Manor was a hell of a long ways away from their little nest. Tim seemed to hear Jason because he made a shuddery little moan that went straight to Jason's cock.

"You want me to come over?" Jason asked and then mentally kicked himself because, what the hell? It wasn't like they were actually lovers or something. The whole Tiger/Robin thing wasn't something that they could acknowledge.

"Uh…"

"No, forget that. I'm an idiot," Jason growled. "Shit. Not sure where that came from."

To his surprise, Tim laughed. It was a real laugh, one that made him sound happy and carefree instead of worried, angry and upset. Jason could all but hear the grin that had to be stretching across Tim's face. Pippin seemed to hear it too because his purr kicked up to jet-engine levels or maybe he just felt how Jason relaxed.

"Yes."

"Uh, yes?" Jason asked because no way could that mean what he thought it meant.

"Yes, I would like you to come over," Tim said. "Breakfast? Well, we usually eat about 1:00 in the afternoon on weekends but it's our first meal so… yes? Please?"

"Daddy-Bats might not like that," Jason said even though he'd already put Pippin aside and was heading for the living room where Selina has stretched out to go over their combined haul.

"I know," Tim said defiantly enough that Jason grinned.

"What?" Selina asked at the same time.

"Come anyway?" Tim asked.

"Sure, I'll be there for breakfast with bells on, Baby Bird," Jason said. "Get some sleep, kiddo. I'll see you when you wake up."

"That. Yes. I'd. Like that," Tim said, embarrassment and delight clearly making his ability to talk disappear in intermittent bursts. "Night."

"Sleep well, Baby Bird," Jason crooned while matching Selina's grin with an even bigger grin of his own.

He waited until Tim hung up to whoop and hug Selina tightly. She laughed and patted his back, raising an eyebrow at him for the obvious question. It probably was a stupid damned idea but Jason couldn't quite bring himself to care. Given how close Selina and Bruce were despite, or perhaps because of, their frequent battles, Jason thought that maybe, just maybe, he might have a chance.

And if he did have a chance with Tim he was sure as hell going to take it. Tim was the best thing that had happened to Jason since Selina took him in.

+++++

Tim hovered by the front door, staring out the window. Last night inviting Jason over for breakfast had seemed like an excellent idea but now that it was 'morning' (Tim still had a hard time thinking of 1:00 pm as morning) Tim wasn't as certain as he'd been last night. Alfred had raised one eyebrow when Tim told him what he'd done. Bruce had chuckled and ruffled Tim's hair fondly, despite the glare that Tim leveled at him for disordering his hair.

Neither of them were the problem that was making him twitch.

Dick, who Tim could hear struggling down the stairs with his crutches, was and probably always would be the problem. The tension between Dick and Jason was bad enough that Tim was certain that they'd never be able to be around each other with any level of comfort. Still, he was looking forward Jason getting there. Tim looked forward to every single second that he got to spend with Jason, whether it was as Tim and Jason or as Robin and Tiger. It didn't matter as long as Jason was around.

"Oh, good morning Tim," Dick said once he made it down the stairs and paused to catch his breath. "Um, what are you looking at?"

Tim sighed because he was watching Jason park his car in front of the manor and get out. "I invited Jason over for breakfast."

"What?" Dick's gasp came out two octaves too high and considerably more strangled than Tim had expected, even with the battle between Dick and Jason last night.

"I invited Jason over for breakfast," Tim said. Jason had several bandages that peeked out from under his shirt sleeves and a huge bruise on his cheek but he moved relatively smoothly as he came up the stairs. Tim saw the exact moment when Jason saw him at the window. Jason's face lit up with delight. "I wanted to see him again. Bruce and Alfred already know."

The noise that Dick made wasn't even close to being language. Tim ignored Dick for the moment (half because he was still mad at Dick) in favor of opening the door for Jason before he could knock. Jason still had the Tiger streak of white in his hair. He laughed when Tim stared at it before letting him in. Dick was standing frozen at the other end of the room, leaning on his crutches, which might explain why Jason didn't seem to notice him.

"I use temporary dye on them when I have to do something as Jason," Jason commented to Tim. He ran a thumb over Tim's lips, chuckling when Tim blushed. "You did actually tell everyone that I was coming over, didn't you?"

"Um. Just. Yes, I did," Tim said or at least tried to say. 

He really hated the way his voice cut out whenever he got excited or overwhelmed. The thought that Jason wasn't disguising himself to come and spend time with Tim had him excited enough that he was surprised that he'd managed to get a single coherent word out.

Once again, Tim could tell the exact moment when Jason noticed Dick watching them because he went from calm, relaxed and flirty to growling like a real tiger and impossibly protective. He actually moved between Tim and Dick, which made both Tim and Dick splutter.

"He's my little brother!" Dick protested.

"Jason, he's hurting enough," Tim murmured. "You don't need to do that."

When Jason moved out of the way Tim had to swallow a laugh. Jason's cheeks had gone red and he looked embarrassed by what he'd done. Tim had the impression that Jason hadn't even intended to do it, that it was pure instinct. Dick sighed and gave Tim a look that said more clearly than words that he had no idea what Tim thought he was doing before hobbling towards the kitchen for breakfast.

"Really did do a number on him, didn't I?" Jason commented with a frown once Dick was gone.

"Yes," Tim agreed. "Um."

"Um?" Jason asked.

"I'm. Glad you came," Tim said, trying to find ways to say 'thank you for last night' and 'Dick really does just want to protect me' and 'I think I'm falling in love with you' as well as 'I think I've been in love with you for years'.

To his surprise Jason seemed to see what Tim couldn't say because his eyes went gentle and loving as he cupped Tim's chin and tugged so that Tim had no choice but to raise his eyes. The kiss came so slowly that Tim had plenty of time to stop it if he wanted to. Instead he leaned into the kiss, clutching Jason's leather jacket as if he'd try to escape. Jason didn't seem to want to escape anymore than Tim did.

"Could eat you up, baby bird," Jason whispered.

"Do," Tim whispered back. "Um. Well, not really but. Breakfast?"

Jason laughed and kissed the very tip of Tim's nose, laughing harder at the way Tim wrinkled his nose and rubbed at it. They stepped apart when Alfred cleared his throat. Alfred's lips were twitching with amusement and something like approval showed in his eyes. Jason seemed surprised by the approval but Tim suspected that it was for the care that Jason showed towards Tim. Either way, they followed Alfred into the kitchen where both Bruce and Dick waited.

Breakfast was pancakes and bacon with Alfred's homemade strawberry and blueberry syrup. Bruce chatted with Jason about the many cats that Selina and Jason had adopted. To Tim's surprise Bruce seemed to know all of the cats by name. The names made Dick grin along with Tim: Triphammer and Bumberwort, the perpetually arguing youngest and oldest in the household. Jason's personal cats were apparently Poppy, Pippen and Angelwings. 

The stories that Jason told about Triphammer's attempts to play with the older cats and her vehement objections to Pippen's persistent grooming her made Dick laugh until tears were in his eyes. Both Jason and Dick seemed to find it strange to be interacting so cordially. Neither of them commented on it but Tim had made certain that he was seated quite firmly between the two of them so there would be less likelihood of something happening while they ate. Once breakfast was over Jason helped Tim wash the dishes even though it was Dick's turn. He obviously wasn't in any condition to do it. Jason paused in the process of drying one of the plates for Tim.

"Why don't you guys have a dishwasher?" Jason asked.

"We do," Tim said. "It's in the formal kitchen for special events and big parties where we bring in caterers. This is the private kitchen and Alfred's never seen the need to upgrade this one with a dishwasher."

"That sounds like Al," Jason chuckled.

It was nearly 2:30 pm by the time Jason looked at Tim and frowned. They'd been alone in the kitchen for over a half an hour. Tim suspected that Dick was begging Bruce and Alfred to reconsider allowing Tim and Jason to get involved, not that it would do him any good. Bruce was as enamored with Selina as Tim was with Jason, after all. No matter what Dick said, Tim didn't think that Bruce would forbid the romance from continuing. Probably. Hopefully.

"Should I go?" Jason asked the fifth time Tim glanced at the door.

"No, no, I'm just. Dick. Bruce," Tim said, losing his language again as Jason put his hand (warm, huge, so comforting) on the side of Tim's neck.

"Selina's talked about accepting Bruce's offers to move in," Jason commented. "They're pretty serious, you know. I think the cats would like having such a huge place to wander around in."

He grinned at the way Tim stared at him with his mouth dropped open. Jason took that as an invitation to lean in and kiss Tim so tenderly that Tim wound his arms around his neck and tangled his fingers into Jason's thick curly hair. Somehow Tim ended up with his back pressed against the wall and Jason's thigh between his legs, not that he minded because his legs had gone weak from Jason syrup-flavored kiss.

"I'm not looking!" Dick squawked from the doorway.

When Tim looked (glared. Honestly, it was a glare) Dick had his hands over his eyes even though that meant that he couldn't maneuver on his crutches. Jason looked and then started laughing. The laugh let Tim release enough of his anger that he laughed too.

"Relax, Dickie-bird," Jason said as he stepped back. "You're already down. I'm not going to kick you."

"I might," Tim said but he smiled at Dick to take some of the sting out of the words.

Dick sighed, giving Tim the 'I can't believe you're still mad at me, little brother' look. Bruce was behind him, lips twitching with amusement. When Jason spotted Bruce he snapped his fingers as if he'd just remembered something. He fished in his pockets and pulled out a note that Bruce took with one raised eyebrow.

"Selina asked me to give that to you," Jason said.

Bruce read it, curiosity quickly fading into amusement that became a tender look that made Tim blush to see. Apparently Dick was as curious about the contents of the note as Tim was because he craned his neck to try and see what it said, unsuccessfully. Once he was done reading, Bruce folded the note up and nodded to Jason with a happy little smile on his lips.

"Thank you," Bruce said. "Feel free to spend the afternoon if you wish."

"Ah, thanks," Jason said, a little blush staining his cheeks for a moment.

They all watched as Bruce strode off to his study with a distinct bounce in his steps. Jason chuckled and wrapped an arm around Tim's shoulders, prompting Tim to squirm and smile at him before he cautiously put his arm around Jason's back. Dick watched and then pouted.

"I feel left out," Dick said almost seriously if it weren't for the grin flirting with his lips.

"Find a Cat your own, Dickie-bird," Jason snorted. "Mama Selina and I are taken. Very, very taken."

"Good," Tim said while leaning into Jason's side.

He might not be able to say all the things he wanted to but hopefully Jason could read them in his expression and his body language. Tim couldn't be happier that Jason did take their proto-relationship seriously. Hopefully they'd manage to get Dick over his issues soon so that things wouldn't be quite so tense, too.

+++++

Selina had laughed and laughed when Bruce told her about the breakfast conversation. Apparently Jason truly was making an effort to get along with Tim's family because he'd been threatening to talk about all his battles with Nightwing and his latest heists when he left Selina's lair. As much as they played the game that they weren't serious about each other, both of them knew it was more a matter of being afraid of what would happen if Jason and Dick were forced to be together on a more frequent basis.

Bruce wouldn't alienate Dick again, not after the strain his 'firing' had put on their relationship. It had taken all of Selina and Clark's efforts to reconcile Bruce and Dick. Selina certainly wasn't going to turn her son out, not for Bruce or anyone else. Tim's attraction to Jason promised to give them a way to come together as a family. Neither of them would make the move yet. They agreed that it was too soon to be sure that Jason and Dick wouldn't kill each other in their sleep.

He wandered to the window, looking down at the garden. To his amusement Dick had perched himself on the stairs to watch as Jason and Tim strolled together. Bruce opened the window just in time for Jason and Tim to drift by under him.

"So how the hell did you end up here?" Jason asked. "I mean, not as Robin, as Tim. Mama Selina said that you'd been stalking us and stuff but she had no clue how you met Bruce."

"Oh, well," Tim said with that duck of the head that meant anything but shyness. When he did that it always meant that he was battling between pride in his accomplishment and shame at the same thing. "I um, tricked him into adopting me."

Bruce wanted to protest that as vehemently as Jason that it hadn't been a trick at all. But thinking about it, in many ways it had been a trick though not in the ways that truly counted.

+++++

"Mmmm, I do love nights when you stay over, lover," Selina sighed.

"I love the nights when you close your door," Bruce chuckled.

The cats were never pleased about Selina's bedroom door being shut but they were always annoyed by the Selina and Bruce having sex so it was safer this way. Not to mention the possibility of Jason, Tiger, wandering by while they were in the act. Somehow it was different when they were in costume. The masks allowed a degree of freedom and playfulness in public that Bruce found difficult to share when he was fully naked.

He was just reaching for her again when his cell phone rang. Selina sighed and rolled over to retrieve it from the spot on the floor where his pants and jacket had fallen. She raised an eyebrow at the name.

"Alfred," Selina commented as she passed it over to Bruce.

"Odd," Bruce said. "He knew I was going to be here tonight."

Bruce flipped the phone open, already sitting up to look for his underwear because Alfred would never have called at this time of the morning if it weren't an emergency. Selina found his boxers tangled with his socks and passed them over.

"Yes?" Bruce asked.

"Master Bruce, we have just received notice that your godson Timothy Drake has called for you," Alfred said in that excessively precise tone that said he was confused and somewhat irritated by the confusion. "Apparently his parents have been killed in an incident in Haiti and as his guardian of record he has need of you."

"Who?" Bruce asked, so startled that he stopped dressing.

"Timothy Drake," Alfred repeated. "Son of Jack and Janet Drake, who appear to have been murdered yesterday in Haiti."

"Drake, Drake," Bruce muttered while pulling his pants on, the phone tucked between his cheek and shoulder. "Timothy."

"Oh, the little Drake boy," Selina said, with an equally puzzled expression. "Short, very shy, black hair, blue eyes. He was at that last party the Drakes held, lover."

Her description finally triggered a memory of a small quiet boy who stared as if he was hungry for meaningful interaction. The memory of that face reminded him that Bruce had wanted to hug the boy, though of course Brucie would never do something like that. He was certain that Dick would have hugged that boy until he squirmed. Bruce frowned, switched this phone to speaker and then pulled on his shirt. Selina was already dressed in a simple, tasteful pair of pants and shirt, her bare feet covered in light slippers.

"Where do I need to be?" Bruce asked.

"The Drake mansion, sir," Alfred said with enough relief that Selina chuckled. "Shall I prepare a room for young Master Timothy?"

The question made Bruce pause. No matter how Bruce had become Tim's guardian, the simple fact was that the boy was alone in the world. If he remembered correctly Tim was fourteen or fifteen years old. He was far too young to be on his own. Selina looked as though she would swoop in to protect Tim if Bruce didn't.

"Yes, do that, Alfred," Bruce said. "I'll let you know more when I've talked to him."

The Drake Mansion was not as large as Wayne Manor. Bruce wasn't sure if the coldness came from the knowledge that the Drakes were gone or something deeper. The lawyers representing both the Drake and Wayne families spent the morning wrangling about how much control Bruce should have over Tim's fortune. Bruce listened while discretely watching Tim. He was quiet, so still that he looked more like a life-sized doll than a boy. Every so often he glanced at Bruce with guilt in his eyes. The urge to hug Tim was much stronger now even though it still wasn't something that Brucie could do. Eventually Bruce cleared his throat, capturing everyone's attention.

"Well, this is all nice guys," Bruce said in his flustered and confused Brucie voice, "but do you need Tim and me for it? I trust you. I'm sure you'll take care of Drake Industries. How about you keep working and I talk to Tim about moving into the Manor? I mean, he's not staying here, is he?"

Bruce looked straight at Tim who gulped and blushed. After a moment of silence that stretched to the point that the lawyers were twitching Tim looked up with tears in his eyes. He nodded, mouthed something that sounded like a cross between 'yes please', 'I guess so', and 'I'm sorry'. The expressions on the lawyers' faces changed to sympathy and understanding so Bruce stood and gestured for Tim to follow him.

They were silent as they went up to Tim's bedroom. The room itself was so neat that Bruce frowned. It was entirely too neat. If he hadn't known better Bruce wouldn't have thought that a teenage boy lived here. Tim caught the frown and winced.

"I'm sorry," Tim said, staring at the floor instead of meeting Bruce's eyes.

"What for?" Bruce asked.

"I… altered the will," Tim whispered. He winced at Bruce's shocked stare. "I um, you need to see something. I've thought of showing you before but…"

The housekeeper came in, interrupting Tim. He told her to pack his clothes, prompting her to cry and gingerly pat his shoulder as if afraid to touch him. As she set to work on the packing Tim led Bruce down into the basement to a rather surprisingly darkroom. Bruce frowned and raised an eyebrow at Tim. He took a deep breath before opening a floor to ceiling cabinet that was covered with photos on the inside.

Photos of Batman. Robin. Nightwing. Tiger and Catwoman.

The pictures covered years, going back to an age where Tim absolutely should not have had the freedom of movement to be outside by himself. The angles of certain shots made Bruce stare in horror. Tim must have taken incredible risks to get the shots and done it so quietly and skillfully that Bruce and Dick completely missed his presence, not to mention having hidden from Selina and Jason.

"You know," Bruce breathed.

"Yes," Tim whispered.

"How long?"

"I um, figured out who Robin was when I was nine," Tim said in a slightly stronger voice though he'd started shaking. "I've… I've never told anyone. Not once. But… Mother and Father are gone. I don't have any other relatives. And…"

"You altered the will so that I would be called in," Bruce said. He looked at Tim with Batman's expression even though he knew Selina would be at him with her whip for it if she knew. "To blackmail me?"

"No!" Tim gasped. His eyes were wide and guileless as he stared at Bruce. "No. No, I wanted. I can't. I don't. Have anywhere else to go. This…"

He stopped when Bruce put a hand on his shoulder. Tim was shaking so badly that Bruce was amazed that he was still standing up. Bruce could see the boy he had been after his parents died in Tim's eyes. The alteration to the will made sense in this context. Batman was the only person that Tim felt any connection to in the world.

"We'll want to pack up your darkroom, won't we?" Bruce said hopefully kindly enough to calm Tim's fears. "I can't imagine that you'll want to leave your equipment behind."

This time Tim's eyes were filled with shock and relief, as if he'd just escaped a fate worse than death. In many ways Bruce suspected that it was a fate worse than death. Having grown up alone with no one to care for him but Alfred, Bruce thought that he might understand Tim quite well. There would have to be some discussion of ending Tim's stalking habits but Bruce didn't think that it would necessitate too many arguments.

Bruce went over to the wall covered with photos and smiled. Maybe there was a path open to Tim that he hadn't considered. If he could make it to the top of the Wayne Tower without being seen, recorded or harming himself to take that particular shot of Batman and Nightwing flying together Tim certainly had the potential to do much more than simply record their actions.

"Once we're back in the Manor," Bruce said as he took down the picture and studied it, "we'll have to take some measurements."

"For the darkroom?" Tim asked. He started systematically removing the photos, starting with the oldest ones and working across the wall.

"No, for some body armor. You can't patrol without proper armor, after all," Bruce replied. He chuckled when the photos fluttered out of Tim's hands and down to the floor. "I haven't had a partner since Dick became Nightwing. It would be… good… to work with someone again."

This time Bruce gave into the need to hug Tim even though Tim's tears seemed to be more for joy than sorrow.

+++++

"Bumberwort, stop that," Tim scolded as he carefully carried Bumberwort's carrier into the manor. "We're almost done."

"He'll growl until he's settled in," Jason chuckled. "Don't take it personally, kiddo. Bumberwort growls at everything and everyone, even Mama Selina."

The process of moving Selina and Jason into the Manor was almost done. Tim wasn't sure what had made Bruce and Selina take that final step after refusing to for so long but whatever it had Bruce staring at Selina with tenderness in his eyes while Selina laughed up her sleeve at him. Every time she had tried to carry anything into the house, he had taken it away from her. She didn't seem to mind at all. The most that Tim had seen her do was coo that Bruce was 'so cute when he was being a caveman'. They were being so affectionate to each other that Tim was tempted to call them adorable even though neither Batman nor Catwoman could ever be described by that term.

Whatever the reason, Tim was delighted by the change of residence for Selina and Jason. It meant that he got to spend as much time around Jason as he wanted. Better still, Tiger and Catwoman weren't going out to steal as much anymore. Jason still went out 'to keep a hand in' but it was apparently more for the fun of it than for anything else. More often he went along on Tim's patrols to keep an eye on him. Selina had stopped suiting up entirely a couple of weeks ago, just about the time she and Bruce announced that she was moving in.

Through it all, Dick had been in and out of the Manor. He was still feeling the effects of Jason's beating but he was mobile again. The crutches were back in the closet where they belonged. Fortunately for him, he hadn't returned to his attempts to obstruct Tim and Jason's growing relationship though he obviously still didn't like it or understand it. Tim thought that if he had continued to be obstructionist, he would have gotten a much worse beating, this time from Tim's hands instead of Jason's.

"Who's a cute little kitty?" Dick cooed as he carried Angelwings in. He'd taken her out of her carrier and was nuzzling her while not watching where he was going. Angelwings seemed to love it. Her purrs echoed through the hallway more loudly than Bumberwort's growls. "You are, oh yes you are."

"You get drool on my cat and I'm going to thump you, Dickie-bird," Jason drawled.

"But she's adorable!" Dick all but squealed. "Little white ball of fluff and love!"

"Mmm-hmmm, and you're disturbing her naptime," Jason laughed. "Don't blame me if she decides she's had enough and claws your face off. She's done it before. Angelwings has violent mood swings."

Dick jerked and stared at Jason with enough alarm that Tim laughed under his breath. They brought all the cats into the room that Alfred had set up for them without any face-clawing activities but Dick had stopped nuzzling Angelwings so that might be why. She certainly leaped out of his arms the instant they were in the room, running over to hide under one of the chairs in the room.

"That's the lot, Mama Selina," Jason said as he let Poppy and Pippen out of their carriers.

"Thank you boys," Selina said, nodding with satisfaction as Bruce adjusted the brand new deluxe floor to ceiling cat tree to her satisfaction. "That's perfect, Bruce. You can leave it now."

"You're sure you don't want it on the other side of the room?" Bruce asked archly enough that Selina rolled her eyes.

"No, it's perfect there," Selina said, smirking at him. "It will get just the right amount of sunshine where it is. You did volunteer to move it around for me, you know."

She laughed as Bruce pulled her into his arms for a hug. Tim blushed and focused on letting Bumberwort out of his carrier. It was embarrassing enough to see them together when they went out patrolling. He'd never get used to seeing such open affection at home too. Especially at home, honestly. His parents had barely ever touched each other, though from the pictures they brought home from their trips, they had been physically affectionate away from home.

Bumberwort growled and stalked out of his carrier, batting Pippen away when he tried to groom his cheek. He stalked around the room, sniffing everything, before climbing to the very top of the new cat tree to hide in one of the cubbyholes. Jason scooped up Pippen, smiling as the cat started licking his thumb contentedly.

"What's got you two so snuggly?" Jason asked. "Don't say it's moving in. You're twice as sappy as normal, Mama."

"Well," Selina said, turning to look over her shoulder at Bruce who nodded comfortingly. "We did have an announcement to make to you boys."

"You're pregnant?" Jason asked with just the right tone to make it a joke. 

Dick smiled automatically at Jason's joke, turning to look at Bruce and Selina for a denial. Tim froze. All the little things that had changed in the last couple of months abruptly added up in his head as Selina blushed and hesitated and Bruce tightened his arms around her waist. His hands were placed very firmly over Selina's belly.

"You are pregnant," Tim breathed.

Both Jason and Dick turned to stare at Tim, Dick with confusion in his eyes and Jason with shock in his. Selina nodded confirmation.

"I am," Selina said. "We've already decided that we want to keep the baby. Haven't decided whether or not we'll get married yet but Bruce is wearing me down on that point."

"Our children should have both their parents," Bruce murmured.

"They already do," Selina huffed even though she was grinning over her shoulder at him. "A piece of paper isn't going to make a bit of difference on that point."

"No, but it will make our child and you much more secure if something happens, God forbid," Bruce replied in a tone that made it clear it was another iteration of a long-term argument.

"Oh my God, that's incredible!" Dick cheered. 

He bounced to his feet and charged over to grab both Bruce and Selina in a hug that all but knocked them over. At the same time, Jason started babbling questions about how long until the baby was born and whether or not they knew the gender. Their excitement filled the room, along with Selina's laughter and Bruce's obvious pride.

Tim sat on one of the couches, watching while petting Poppy who seemed perfectly happy to cuddle in his lap.

They were all so excited. He wasn't sure what he felt. There was joy for Selina and Bruce. That he was sure of. But there was also nervousness because Tim had never spent any time around babies. Later he'd have to look up information on how to handle babies online. Plus information about pregnancy and the risks involved. It would be terrible if something happened to Selina and her child before it was born.

A shiver swept across Tim's body, making Poppy grumble.

Afraid. Tim realized as Poppy grumble-hissed at him and abandoned his lap that he was afraid. He stared down at his hands. They were so tightly clenched in his lap that his knuckles were white. A moment later he realized that they hurt so he unclenched them and shook his hands out discreetly. The fear was so silly. There was no reason for Tim to be afraid that Bruce and Selina would throw him out now that they had a child of their own on the way. Bruce had adopted him. He'd adopted Dick, too, right about the same time. Selina had adopted Jason. Neither of them was the sort to throw a child out because another one had arrived. Would arrive. Sometime soon. Oh God.

"Tim?" Selina asked.

"Hmm?" Tim asked, startled into staring at her.

"Are you okay?" Selina asked in her 'don't frighten the kitten as you approach' voice.

"Sorry, I was just. Internet. I need to look up some things on the internet," Tim said, blushing brightly. "Babies. Um. I don't. Well. Know much about them. Never interacted with any."

Selina laughed and came over to enfold Tim in one of those hugs that made it seem like she really was his Mama instead of just Jason's. He shuddered and leaned into the hug, relatively certain that she'd seen his fears of being replaced. She might even understand them because she cuddled and petted him for a while before kissing his cheek.

"Never going to turn you out, little bird," Selina whispered. "You belong here just as much as me. Besides, Tiger would follow you wherever you go."

"Selina," Tim mumbled against her shoulder because there was no way he was letting Dick and Jason see how fiercely he was blushing. They'd ask what she said and Tim didn't want to admit to his insecurities regarding his place in the manor.

"You call me Mama, little bird," Selina laughed. "Because you're just as much my boy as my Tiger is."

She pulled back to cup his cheeks with both of her hands, grinning at his embarrassed look. Tim laughed, or at least tried to. It came out more like a hiccup crossed with a sneeze but the feeling was there either way. After a moment Tim nodded, putting his hands over Selina's.

"Mama," Tim said, wonderingly because in that moment she really did seem like the mother he should have always had.

+++++

Jason wasn't at all surprised to find Tim glued to his computer once he finished washing the dishes from dinner. He'd been quiet and withdrawn all day, ever since Mama Selina and Bruce's bombshell. Not that Jason was all that surprised by the news. They'd been way too lovey-dovey and secretive for it not to be something like that.

The thought of a little brother or sister coming didn't bother him much but it was pretty obvious that it bugged Tim. They hadn't talked about Tim's childhood, beyond a few mentions of the mansion he used to live in and being able to go out photographing Batman and Robin at a freaking obnoxiously young age. Jason was generally unwilling to bring it up since it made Tim get sad and withdrawn. Of course, most of their time together in the past had been spent doing other things, like fighting or fucking, because they had so little time to spend together. Living on opposite sides of the city did a number on your time.

But now Jason's room was connected to Tim's by a shared sitting room that Tim had claimed as his office. Jason had a big comfy couch to sprawl on and a bookshelf packed with books but the rest of the room was Tim's. It wasn't bad, really. Tim had good taste in office furniture, so it was all heavy wood and nice gleaming tech that made Jason's fingers itch to take it apart. That broken grapple kept calling him. If Tim didn't get to fixing it soon Jason was so going to take the job away from him.

"Getting all the good data on babies?" Jason asked.

Tim started and stared at Jason. "Oh. Um. Yes. Sorry. Just."

"Worried," Jason finished for him since Tim's words had run out again.

It was the cutest thing ever about Tim, or more accurately one of the cutest things about him. Words and Tim only got along on an occasional basis. Jason sometimes thought that Bumberwort and Triphammer had a better relationship with each other than Tim and words did. Tim blushed, turning to stare at his computer screen again. Jason smiled and leaned over to kiss the back of Tim's neck just above his collar.

"Nnnngh…" Tim moaned.

"You're worried," Jason murmured against the sensitive skin there. "Don't need to be."

"Sorry," Tim whispered.

He leaned back into Jason's arms, pushing his chair away from the computer. That made Jason smile as he scooped Tim up and carried him over to the lounging part of his couch. It was just the right width for the two of them to cuddle together comfortably. Tim didn't protest being stolen away from his computer for once. He didn't even bother saving whatever he'd been working on, which probably meant he'd just been staring at the screen instead of working.

"You know I love you, little bird," Jason said once they were snuggled together on the couch.

"Mmm-hmm," Tim agreed so readily that Jason couldn't help but beam and puff his chest out a little. The laugh more than made up for the finger stabbed into his side.

"Your parents… didn't say that to you did they?" Jason asked. He winced as Tim stiffened so much that he might as well have been turned into a Tim-sized block of ice. "You don't have to tell me. I just worry and wonder about it. From what I saw they were cozy enough between the two of them but you've always been kinda… lonely seeming, I guess."

Tim sighed and slowly relaxed. It was nearly as slow as an actual block of Tim-shaped ice melting against Jason's side. He waited, gently rubbing Tim's back. There were a billion things that Jason wanted to tell Tim about his time before Mama Selina adopted him. He'd been unwilling to do so when he wasn't sure how serious things were gonna get. No reason to open himself up to the emotional damage if they did break up messily. But things were different now that Mama Selina and Bruce were getting married.

"My real mom was a drug addict," Jason murmured against Tim's hair. He chuckled at Tim's start of surprise. "Dad was an abusive drunk. Used to come home and smack us both around. Mom took drugs to escape it. Then she took drugs because she couldn't stop. Then she died from the drugs and Dad got thrown in prison. I ended up in a foster home for a while until I ran away. Mama Selina found me. Took me in. Gave me a life and hope, you know?"

"Yes," Tim murmured. He nodded as if he really did know about it.

"There's… lots of shit that happened, Baby," Jason sighed. "Lots of things that hurt like hell and scared the fuck out of me. Told Mama Selina some of it. She figured a lot of it out on her own and got me the help I needed. Some things leave their mark, you know? Not on your body all the time but on your soul. The way you stand, the way you move. The way you react."

Tim whined and buried his face in Jason's shoulder. He laughed and hugged Tim.

"Just saying that we all got a pretty good idea that your parents were cold as fuck with you, Baby," Jason said. "It's okay. We all got our issues. If you want to talk about it, I'm more than happy to listen. If not, so be it. I'm just happy I got you, okay?"

The silence stretched for a long goddamned time but Jason didn't let it bother him. He could feel Tim fighting to get his words in order, all the little hitches and gasps as the words didn't cooperate as he tried to force them out of his mouth. Eventually Tim sighed and nodded.

"Okay," Tim whispered. "Not. Today. Not today. Eventually?"

"Anytime, little bird," Jason whispered back. "Any time you need me, I'm there for you."

+++++

"What the hell?" Jason snarled at Dick as he reached out to Tim and then pulled his hand back at Tim's fierce look.

"What do you mean you're replacing me?" Tim all but shrieked at Dick.

"Tim, Damian needs this," Dick said entirely too calmly for the pain he was causing Tim or the glare that Jason was giving him. "If Damian is Robin then it will give me more leverage to keep him from hurting people. This is important."

Jason put his hands on Tim's shoulders despite Tim's fury, stopping whatever Tim had been about to say or do. Given how tight Tim's shoulders were it was probably a punch straight to Dick's fucking nose. Dick winced at whatever he saw on Tim's face and then backed off a step at the expression on Jason's. They hadn't had a real fight in years, not since Bruce and Selina got married, but this promised to be as bad as the ones before Tim had shown up.

"Not yours to take away, Dickie-bird," Jason growled. "Bruce gave it to Tim. You got a name you can give away: Nightwing. Only Tim can give Robin to someone else. You don't have the fucking right."

"But… guys, Damian's going to go down the wrong path if we don't do something," Dick protested. "You've seen how he's been since Bruce died. He's getting more violent every day and there's nothing that slows him down anymore. He needs to be Robin."

"I will certainly do a better job than my predecessor," Damian said with a haughty sniff from the doorway.

Jason had to wrap his arms around Tim's waist as soon as Tim looked. His baby bird damn near launched himself across the room to rip the mask off Damian's face. As it was, Jason took several vicious kicks to the foot and one nasty scratch across the back of his hand as Tim tried to get loose. Dick looked fucking horrified, as if he hadn't expected any of this. Goddamn moron never did consider what the consequences of his actions would be before he did them.

"You already made him a suit?" Tim shouted. "How long have you been planning on getting rid of me? I thought you were my brother, Dick! Is this what you think of me?"

"Tim!" Dick protested. "It's for the better this way."

"No, it's not," Selina said from behind Damian.

Damian started and skittered into the room like a nervous cat that hadn't heard someone coming up behind him. He started to glare but Selina had Helena in her arms and Damian was studiously kind to his little sister no matter what provocation he had. It was the one thing that made Jason think that Damian might not be as horrible as he seemed. Helena thought that the sun rose and set on her big brother so she automatically reached out her arms for him to hold her. At two, she didn't care one way or the other whether he was wearing a uniform that he had no right to put on, and in the mansion proper instead of the Cave.

"Take it off," Selina told Damian.

"It is my right--!" Damian hissed only to snap his mouth shut when Selina glared at him.

"No, it's not," Selina said. "And it wasn't Dick's right to give you that uniform, either. You're not ready."

That made Damian stare at her with horrified desperation, as if the Robin uniform was the only thing that was keeping him from feeling unwelcome and unwanted in the family. Given how the demon spawn had been raised, it might be. Tim seemed to see it because his hands tightened painfully around Jason's wrists.

"Bruce had strict limits on height and weight, Damian," Selina said. "You meet the requirements for hit strength, certainly. You have excellent combat skills, though you're a good bit too violent for my tastes. However, you're too short and too light to patrol. Until you meet those height and weight requirements, you will not wear that uniform. Go take it off. Now."

"…tt." The sequence of things that Damian very obviously wanted to say looked to include Arabic profanity, pleading that he was worthy, that the size requirements didn't apply to him, and then probably something appealing to her better nature as a parent but Selina's expression was stone-still and absolutely determined. "Very well."

"Jason, Tim," Selina said, this time with a tight, tiny smile that made Jason want to run right the fuck away and stay away for a long, long time. "Take Helena. Dick and I need to have a very long talk."

"Yes ma'am!" Jason said.

He let Tim go and scooped Helena out of Selina's arms. Tim was on his heels, grabbing Damian and hauling him out the door so fast that Damian spluttered. It still wasn't fast enough to cut off Selina's dreaded 'so disappointed' sigh or the sad, hurting tone in her voice as she spoke to Dick.

"I know you never really wanted me here, Dick," Selina said so gently that Jason cringed at the sheer weight of the guilt trip being laid down, "but I had thought that we'd left those days behind us after the wedding."

"Selina…" Dick said, his response more of a whimper than words.

Damian looked horrified as Tim very quietly closed the door. This time he didn't protest as Tim hauled him towards the stairs down to the Cave. Helena giggled at how fast they made the trip, cooing at Jason and then holding her arms out to Damian again. This time Damian took her willingly, holding her close.

"I… did not expect Step-mother's response," Damian admitted as he cuddled Helena. "Mother said that I was ready."

"Kiddo, trust me, nothing's worse than Selina laying on the guilt trip but she wouldn't say that if she didn't believe it," Jason said. "You're too small yet no matter what cool ninja shit you can do."

"I still can't believe that Dick tried that," Tim complained as if he wasn't actually listening to them talk. "He doesn't have the right to do that."

"He said that he had the right to do it as he is Batman now," Damian said very quietly, though Jason thought it had more to do with the fact that Helena's head was cuddled under his chin than any desire to be polite to Tim.

"No fucking way, kiddo," Jason sighed. "Hell, it's basically the same as if he'd tried to let you be Tiger. It's Tim's name, Tim's identity and Dickie-bird doesn't have the fucking right to try and give it to someone else, especially without talking to Tim or Selina about it first. Sure, it was his name in the beginning but it hasn't been his for years. Selina's your goddamn step-mom. She gets final say on what you do or don't do, not him."

"Tt."

Helena squealed and patted Damian's cheeks as if trying to make him make the noise. "Again! Dami, again! Again! Pweese? Again!" 

Damian laughed under his breath, clucking his tongue at Helena repeatedly. She squealed, laughed and clapped her hands every time he did it, eventually giving herself hiccups from laughing so hard. Apparently the demon spawn had been watching how Jason calmed her down when this happened because he cuddled her close and swayed just right while patting Helena's back until the hiccups went away.

"What?" Damian asked, the edge back in his voice.

"Nothin'," Jason drawled as he grinned at Damian. "Just glad to see that you do learn. Don't cluck. You'll set her off again."

"I do not 'cluck'," Damian said with enough horror that Jason and Tim both grinned at him.

"Sorry, Damian," Tim said as he laughed behind one hand, "but the proper term for that sound in English is 'clucking your tongue'."

Instead of letting Damian's disgust at that bit of trivia disturb Helena, Jason held his arms out for her. Damian frowned but passed her over. She was a sturdy little girl, more like a three year old than a two year old, but she still cuddled under his chin easily. Once she was snuggled up, Jason jerked his chin at the Robin uniform that Damian still had on.

"Better take that off before Selina gets down here," Jason warned, "or you're likely to get the sad sigh plus the 'so disappointed' look."

"She'll probably do those anyway," Tim said thoughtfully. "The hard one is when she does the thing where she puts one hand on your shoulder and stares into your eyes as if seeing straight through you before getting tears in her eyes. I always feel like I've failed her when she does that. She doesn't need to say a thing before I'm apologizing."

"These are… techniques?" Damian asked nervously. "Ways to manipulate people?"

"They're manipulative, sure," Jason said, "but doesn't stop her from meaning it. I always figured it was something that all moms did. My mom did it."

"Mine didn't," Tim sighed while staring into the darkness of the far reaches of the Cave with that blank expression that meant he was reliving the cold, empty years before his parents died, "but… well, she wasn't a real mother like Selina. Steph said that her mother does it too."

Damian looked horrified for a moment before hurrying into the changing area to take off his uniform. Once he was gone, Tim sighed and seemed to crumble in on himself. He came to lean against Jason's side. Helena cooed and patted his cheek gently, prompting Tim to kiss the palm of her hand. No fucking surprise, Helena squealed and held out her arms to him.

"You know she's gonna go for a hug when you do that, Baby bird," Jason chuckled.

"Mmm-hmm, I know," Tim said, smiling as Helena wrapped her chubby arms around his neck. "It's okay."

"Not even a little bit okay, Tim," Jason murmured. He wrapped his arms around both of them, which made both Tim and Helena giggle. "Dickie-bird effed this one up, you know? There's gotta be better ways to handle it."

"I know," Tim sighed. "I just don't know what would work better to get Damian to act like a real person."

"Hugs!" Helena declared just in time for Damian to come back and Selina to come down the stairs with Dick and Alfred on her heels. "Hugs fix evvyt'ing!"

Selina laughed, coming over to kiss Helena on the forehead. Her expression was much fiercer when she looked at Dick, who squirmed and then winced because Alfred was glaring in his more restrained way too. Damian looked like he was about to face an execution squad. Tim looked like he wanted to sink into the floor. Jason just wanted to curse Dick out but he'd promised not to do as much swearing now that Helena was learning words so quickly. As cute as it was when she swore, it wasn't a good thing for a little girl to swear like a sailor.

"I'm… sorry," Dick said to Tim and then Damian. "I shouldn't have made that decision without consulting anyone. Selina brought up a lot of things that I hadn't considered. I still think that Damian needs to play a role in our activities but… I had no right to take Robin away from you, Tim."

"No, you didn't," Tim agreed in a wobbly voice that made Helena half-strangle him with a hug.

"Interested to hear what ideas you got," Jason commented since Damian had his 'good soldier' expression on and that was the most painful fucking thing in the world to see on a ten year old boy's face. "It'd be good to have help out there but he is a little short. Hell, Croc could eat him in one bite."

"No, he couldn't," Damian protested despite his sudden blush. "I would require at least three bites, not that he would be able to catch me in the first place. I am far too agile for a cretin such as him."

Tim snickered into Helena's hair, prompting her to giggle and half-strangle him again. Jason couldn't help but grin at the kid despite the way he was glaring at them all. It really was like having a human version of Bumberwort as a kitten. Selina's little smile was quietly amused as she offered a hand to Damian. Of course, the kid had to study her hand for a moment but eventually he took it as if afraid he was about to get knifed. What that said about his fucking mom made Jason want to start cursing again. He was really damned glad that he'd never spent any time around that bitch.

They all headed back upstairs, Dick in the rear because he was pouting at having his pet plan shot to shit. On the first floor Tim stopped and stared at one of the old portraits on the wall. Helena cooed and reached out towards it as if she wanted to pat it. Tim caught her hand so that she wouldn't maul the thing. No fucking way were baby hands good for old paintings, after all.

"What's up, Baby bird?" Jay asked.

"That's… Bruce," Tim said in a shaky enough voice that everyone stopped and stared at him.

"Daddy!" Helena agreed. "Funny hat!"

Dick stared over Tim's shoulder, frowning. "It's one of his ancestors, yeah."

"No, look at the face, Dick," Tim said a little more seriously. "That's Bruce. Not someone who looks like that. Genetics don't work that way. You don't get copies of a person in different generations."

Selina came over, Damian's hand still wrapped up in hers. She ran one finger over the jawline of the painting. Jason could tell the exact moment when she went on alert because Damian jumped at the abrupt increase in her grip strength.

"It has his scar, the one on his chin that I gave him," Selina breathed. "But… they said he was dead. His body…"

Tim and Selina exchanged looks. As Selina let Damian go, Tim passed Helena over to Jason who promptly passed her over to Damian who glowered at both of them until Helena squealed and hugged him. Dick looked bewildered by their sudden intense interest in the old painting. Alfred had one eyebrow raised as if he wasn't sure what the fuss was either.

"I need to do some research," Tim announced.

"I have to check some of my old notes," Selina agreed. "I had a few items that were suggestive."

"What's going on?" Dick asked in such a lost tone of voice that both Tim and Selina stopped to look at him.

"Bruce isn't dead," Tim said. "I think… I think he was sent back in time. We just have to find him and bring him home."

 

The End


End file.
